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Monday, January 27, 2014

Who's ready for the Super Bowl! I'm ready for a little football especially since "my team" the Broncos will be playing. I was in Denver (for the Stock Show) the big AFC and NFC weekend. Since one of my coworkers is a big 49ers fan we made a stop in the Cowboy Barn to watch the game before supper that night. Unfortunately, the 49ers lost and at the end of the game we saw the now famous Richard Sherman post game interview.

I didn't care for the interview very much. He rubbed me the wrong way. He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

I thought he was arrogant, brash and handled himself unprofessionally. I admit I judged Richard Sherman. However, after doing a little more reading or research on Mr. Sherman you might decide he's a decent guy. They have been numerous articles commenting on the other side of the story, you can read them here, here, and here.

Sherman is lucky. He has great PR people, and there are journalist know that this is a story that they can continue to capitalize on. The other story is getting shared. That's the thing Richard Sherman isn't like you and me.

Have you ever done something in 20 seconds that you wished you could take back. That you wished someone was there the next morning to write a nice little article on the true you or share the other side of the story. The fact is that first impressions matter, a lot. And they matter even more when you are an average joe like you and me.

And that's why I don't like the Sherman Richards interview. Social media was a buzz with people standing up for him, defending him and trying to share the truth. However, more often than not there isn't going to be anyone to fix your first impression error.

So what you do think? Had your opinion of Sherman changed? Should we not judge people? Or should we remember that our rants, poor judgement calls or unflattering pictures likely will be judged and no one might hear the other side of the story?

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Hello friends! So where I have I been the past week and a half? The bright, warm and sunny Mile High City aka Denver was my home. For the past 10 days I was in Denver for the National Western Stock Show. Not only were the warm temperatures a welcome, I got to see a ton of old friends and even met another one of my social media friends Taysha Reitzel from Dirt Road Charm!

Even though it was a work trip I did get to sneak up to the trade show and found these beauties.

At first I wasn't sure if they were men's or women's boots because the bottoms are the same as the boots I bought for the Boy for our anniversary. However, the turquoise is probably a little more appealing to me than most men.

So, I asked the sales girl and she said these boots came in both men and women's sizes! Problem solved. Now I just need to add them to my wish list. What boots are you on your wish list?

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Hello all you pretty ladies. I know you have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of my second Beauty Swap. We had a blast on the first one (you can see all the links to the ladies that participated here). This time I am excited to have Courtney Nolz help me host round two. Courtney is a girl who loves agriculture as much as I do, but also owns her own boutique called Cowgirl Crush. I also love reading Courtney's Make-Up Monday blog posts.

So how does a Beauty Swap work? Once you have signed up we’ll pair you with another beauty loving blogger (or someone that enjoys Twitter or Instagram). You’ll have a little bit of time to get to know your new social media friend, and then you’ll send each other a gift of beauty products. Sign up for the Beauty Swap will take place January 15-21, 2014. We’ll send out the pairings by January 26. Get to know your partner and then be sure to get your package in the mail by February 4.

Once you have received you box feel free to link up and share your new beauty finds! You don't have to have a blog to participate, but we do ask that you have a social media way to communicate and join in on the fun. Use the hashtag #beautyswap on Twitter or Instagram. Below is a list of a few rules and guidelines. We ask that you try and stick to the rules as closely as possible.

Email your partner within 72 hours of receiving your match. If you haven’t heard from your match after three days are up, let us know and we’ll pair you with someone else.

Be sure to ask your partner questions about their likes and disklikes, skin tone, preferred colors, etc. or maybe they want to be surprised!

Each box should contain a min. of $15 worth of product. Please include one full size item. You may also include samples of products with your one full size item. Don't forget Valentine's Day is around the corner so maybe you want to include a special treat.

Items must be new, unless you’ve discussed this with your partner. (Perhaps she loves purple nail polish and you have bottle you know you won’t use anymore.)

Packages must be shipped by Feb. 4. If possible it is a good idea to get a tracking number incase something gets lost.

Once you receive your package create a post revealing what you received and link up with the Crystal Cattle blog on February 21.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

The other week the Boy walked home and said, "Well there is some crack for you in the mail." Hun? When I looked a the mail pile I quickly saw two new Pottery Barn catalogs and a West Elm catalog. Ah, now I understand. It was going to be a fun night of reading.

Instantly I was drawn to the January 2014 Pottery Catalog and their new Indigo "color story." And instantly I wanted to redo our bedroom (even though I wouldn't say it is completely done to begin with!) That's the problem with Pottery Barn, each season they come out with amazing new bedding ideas. However, I am pretty excited about this Indigo look.

That same week I was also thinking about bedding for our cattle. In the winter the cattle also need new bedding. I am not sure they would get as excited about about Indigo bedding as I do, as their bedding comes in the form of old corn stalks, straw or shavings.

This is a video of some of my mom and dad's bulls,in Canada, enjoying their bedding and that fancy wooden windbreak aka their headboard. Their kitchen aka the feed bunk is also right next to their bedroom.

How long have you had your bedding for or do you swap it out frequently? Or maybe you are like our cattle and keeping warm and comfortable is the only thing that really matters.

p.s. If you have been waiting for my next Beauty Swap announcement be watching my blog this week as I will be sharing the details!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

It's a new year and time to bring back some turquoise. This outfit would be completely impractical this week with our chilly temperature. You would probably want to throw a bunch of turquoise outerwear over the top of it but I am trying to think warm thoughts!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Ok, admit it... you've taken a selfie before. Or maybe you just really want to take one. We'll I am here to let you in on a little secret. It's called the felfie. Hun? Felfie = farmer selfie. Over in Europe the felfie has caught on. I have a feeling that it is about to catch on here too.

I maybe should have worn waterproof mascara! However, the calves were happy to see me in this cold weather.

Helping the Boy with Harvest this Fall.

The next time you are on Twitter or Instagram search #felfie, you might see my face or some of the other hard working farmers out there.

Rockin my Red Meat Mafia Shirt

p.s. If you haven't heard it is really cold across the Midwest right now. However, that doesn't mean that farmers haven't been out in this awful weather make sure that our animals are taken care of. On Saturday we spent most of the morning putting out extra bedding to keep our cattle warm. The Boy and I are expecting a couple more new baby calves in this weather so there have been lots of trip to the barn to make sure the expectant mothers are OK. If you would give a little extra thoughts to farmers and our livestock these next few days.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Thank you to all the awesome ladies that participated in my first ever Beauty Swap and a special thanks for Jenny Dewey for helping me host it.

I know I had a blast watching all the tweets, Instagram photos and Facebook posts about the packages you were sending and receiving. By the looks of things we had some pretty generous ladies out there. I hope you are all enjoying your new products.

My swapping partner was Sara Hewitt. Who knew that two random people could have so much in common. We are both farm girls who grew up with livestock, and are learning a lot more about crops. She is currently working on her master's at K-State so of course I had to send her a K-State Eat Beef license plate in addition to some beauty products!

Now onto Sara's package for me. I love that Sara sent me a lot of products that I have been wanting to try but haven't gone out and bought for myself.

My favorite products from Sara were: 1. Victoria Secret Pink Body Spray. Not only is the scent great, but Sara was right knowing I would love the name - Wild at Heart. 2. EOS lip balm - this is by favorite my new favorite lip balm. I love the scent and it actually has kept my lips from getting chapped all through days in the mountains this Christmas and a pre-New Years cold. 3. Covergirl Lipstain - Sara and I had talked about me being more of a lipstick gal, but I love this lip stain. It is just enough color for the days I am running around the farm or town, and I also have been wearing it as a base and laying my lipstick over top of it. 4. Finally, I love this purple eyeliner from Urban Decay. Purple is a great eye color for me to wear and it glides on super easily. The color is very rich and pigmented.

You can learn more about each of the products by clicking on the individual photos above.

About Me

These are just a few of the stories that make up the life of an ag girl. I have a passion for agriculture, and want to see farmers remain on the land, raising food for all of us. You'll also get a dash of cattle life from around the country as I travel for work, and some commentary on my hectic life. I love photography, video production, K-State (yes I bleed purple), the livestock industry and have bounced from Alberta, to Kansas, to Missouri, to Iowa. Stay tuned. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @crystalcattle